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Spice Up Your Life

An article by Renegade Expressions

For this post, the term ‘spices’ will include seeds, herbs and other forms of seasonings. There are hundreds of different spices, but I will only mention the ones that I am familiar with in this post. My appreciation for spices came from a Trini friend I had. She came to visit me in Jamaica with a bag of tricks and a bag of spices. She was hell-bent on me sampling her Trini cuisine, and I happily obliged. It proved too much for me to handle, but from that moment I was hooked. I couldn’t believe that the majority of my adult life I was clueless to the ingredients that gave my favorite meals their flavor. I never realized how important these seemingly insignificant additions were. After I had made a special trip to the supermarket, I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of different spices that were available locally. There were so much more than the salt, black pepper, seasoning salt and curry that I was accustom. Those traditional spices along with the colorful concoctions that were used to season chicken and meat were all I knew growing up in Jamaica.

I love to cook as much I love to eat, and spices make my meals come alive. Knowing which spices goes best with other ingredients is critical and can make or break a meal. Sometimes you have to decide between fresh or dried spices based on the dish. I prefer robust, hot or ‘spicy’ spices. For that reason, Indian cuisine is my favorite. As a proud Jamaican, Jamaican cooking will always be close to my heart and mouth. However, being that I am a vegetarian that recently turned vegan, I find that the ‘Jamaican’ options are limited. I still enjoy Ackee (without the salt fish), and I even ‘curry’ it [Ackee] from time to time. I am also known to ‘Jerk’ my vegetables. My limited but increased knowledge of spices have brought my cooking to another level. I make a concerted effort not to use mixed spices like Lawry’s and Mrs. Dash, but rather I make my mixes, so I have total control over the ingredients and the flavors in my cooking.

Health Benefits

Spices not only add flavor to your meals, but they also have health benefits. Some of my favorite spices are turmeric, cumin, cloves, pimento, garlic and cayenne pepper.

I’ve been promising myself that I’d be more adventurous in my cooking. I have a black thumb so I’ll need to purchase my fresh spices, but I’ve been slowly adding to my spice collection. Vinegars are next!

I’ve been trying to talk myself out of it. I’m going to get some potting soil and give it one more go. I’m more of a baker. It would be cool if you share some of the veggie recipes though. I have the palate of a recalcitrant 6 year old child. I know I should be eating the vegetables, but the bad stuff is sooooo good. I try to do one or two meatless days every week though so some new recipes would be welcome. .